A Man with many Titles-Juan Sequin

Published in the La Vernia news on August 17, 2017

Juan Seguin — A Man of many Titles

Story & Photos by Harry & Kinda Kaye Perez reader@wcn-online.com

A
bronze bust of Alamo Defender, Juan Nepomuceno Seguin, was unveiled on August 10th
at the “Battle for Texas-the Experience”, an historical adventure attraction
bringing life to the 1836 Battle of the Alamo and the journey of settlers of
the area. It is located inside RiverCenter
Mall in downtown San Antonio and is open to the public. The sculptor of this 60-pound bust, Erick
Christianson, was on hand for the unveiling.

Juan
Seguin’s was born in 1806, and at an early age, helped teach Indian children to
read and write inside the confines of an old mission-what we now know as the
Alamo. Seguin was the only military officer to fight at the Alamo in 1836 who
survived. Just before the fall of the Alamo, he was sent into the countryside
to carry the message that “Texans shall never surrender,” and to recruit men to
help defend against Santa Anna’s Army. He went on to fight at the Battle of San
Jacinto, served as a Texas Senator from 1837-1840 and served as Mayor of San
Antonio in 1834 and again in 1841. Following the Mexican-American War he
settled into ranching in Floresville, became a Wilson County Judge in 1869. He
died in Nueva Laredo1890 at age 83; his remains were returned to Texas in 1974 and buried in Sequin, Texas, the town named in his honor.